VCT Champions 2023 is the culmination of everything the first year of franchising has accomplished so far, from great games and upsets to the dominance of Fnatic either seeing its end, or reaching its peak. Not only have the stories been plentiful, but the prize pool for the final tournament of the year is more than double than what previous years offered.
The official prize pool for the VALORANT Champions 2023 tournament totals up at $2.25 million USD, making it the largest prize pool in VALORANT history. Where Champions 2021 and 2022 offered a total of $1 million for all its contestants, the eventual victors of 2023 will get $1 million just for themselves, while other teams will get significantly higher amounts this time around for their finishes.
The prize pool breakdown for VCT Champions 2023
For context, here is a full breakdown of how the money will be split for the Champions 2023 tournament.
- First = $1,000,000
- Second = $400,000
- Third = $250,000
- Fourth = $130,000
- Fifth-Sixth = $85,000
- Seventh-Eighth = $50,000
- Ninth-12th = $30,000
- 13th-16th = $20,000
Related: All teams qualified for VALORANT Champions 2023
This guarantees at least $20,000 to every team that qualified for Champions 2023, with the chance to make up to a million dollars. Due to the group stage system eliminating some teams together, and the playoffs doing the same in the lower bracket, only the top four spots have their own unique rewards.
New record prize pool doesn’t even include upcoming skin bundle
This prize pool is just the starting point, as there is going to be another source of revenue from the event. As is standard for the Champions tournament, there will be a skin available in the VALORANT store that will put part of its proceeds towards the teams competing in the tournament. This tradition began in 2021, with the Champions Vandal, and continued in 2022 with the Champions Phantom and butterfly knife.
Related: VALORANT’s new Champions skin bundle has partner teams anticipating a big future payday
Since the two main guns of the game have been covered already, there is a chance we could see a Champions Operator, or even a bundle of multiple skins, like a Champions Shorty and Champions Spectre. No matter which guns get their Champions makeover, they’ll probably devote a good chunk of their revenue towards competing teams. The previous two years have put half of the bundle’s proceeds towards squads, with the 2022 bundle putting together over $16 million USD to spread out towards the competitors.
To see these teams fight for their lives, and a new high of a prize pool, make sure to tune in to VALORANT Champions 2023, starting on Aug. 3. It all leads to the finals on Aug. 26, where we will see the third ever Champions and the largest first-place prize in VALORANT history.
